Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

from Tanglewood Organic Berry and Produce Farm.

We will be updating our blog/facebook/twitter and web site the first
of the year so please come back to visit often.

 

Our Hours This Week And What We Will Be Harvesting

Our hours this week:

Saturday, November 3,10:00-2:00pm
This will be our last day for the season!

What we'll be harvesting for Saturday:
Saturday-We will be harvesting red and golden raspberries, heirloom tomatoes, eggplant-regular and Italian, sweet peppers, cauliflower, cut mixed lettuce greens, arugula, leeks, Daikon radishes (Japanese radishes), and  Brussels sprouts.

Weather-Our Season
With the possibility of rain and snow coming tomorrow we will only be open Saturday, November 3^rd this week which will be our last day of the seasonL.

Thank you all- for a wonderful Season!
We feel so fortunate and blessed to have your support. Your support has given us the encouragement to continue to grow and create a healthy and supportive, educational farm environment for our community. We are looking forward to many markets and learning experiences with you and your families.   

Next Season will be here before you know it-We will start the next year/season with over 9500 strawberry plants. We also have a few hundred asparagus so we will be good to go in the spring! We will send you an e-mail announcing the spring opening of the market.

Tuesday, August 7 from 2:00 pm-6:00pm

Thursday, August 9 from 2:00-6:00pm

Saturday, August 11 from 10am-2:00pm

What we will be harvesting this week:

Tuesday-Blackberries and raspberries, snow peas, cucumbers, cut lettuces,   zucchini, basil, a variety of tomatoes- including our wonderful red sandwich tomatoes (which are also great for canning and sauces), eggplant-regular and Italian, peppers, watermelon, honey dew, start of cantaloupe and green beans as well as broccoli, the last of the dinosaur kale, chives, oregano and basil have made a return.

Thursday- Loads of blackberries and raspberries, snow peas, cucumbers, cut lettuces,   zucchini, basil, a variety of tomatoes- including our wonderful red sandwich tomatoes (which are also great for canning), eggplant-regular and Italian, peppers, watermelon, honey dew, start of cantaloupe and green beans, start of the broccoli, chives, oregano and basil.

Saturday- Loads of blackberries and raspberries, snow peas, cucumbers, cut lettuces,   zucchini, basil, a variety of tomatoes- including our wonderful red sandwich tomatoes (which are also great for canning), eggplant-regular and Italian, peppers, watermelon, honey dew, start of cantaloupe and green beans as well as the broccoli, chives, oregano and basil have made a comeback. Possibly cabbage.

Our Hours This Week and What we are Harvesting

Our hours this week:

Tuesday, July 31 from 2:00 pm-6:00pm

Thursday, August 2 from 2:00-6:00pm
Saturday, August 4 from 10am-2:00pm

What we will be harvesting this week:

Tuesday-Loads of blackberries and raspberries, snow peas, cucumbers, cut lettuces,   zucchini, basil, a variety of tomatoes- including our wonderful red sandwich tomatoes (which are also great for canning and sauces), eggplant-regular and Italian, peppers, watermelon, honey dew, start of cantaloupe and green beans as well as broccoli, the last of the dinosaur kale, chives, oregano and basil have made a return.

Thursday- Loads of blackberries and raspberries, snow peas, cucumbers, cut lettuces,   zucchini, basil, a variety of tomatoes- including our wonderful red sandwich tomatoes (which are also great for canning), eggplant-regular and Italian, peppers, watermelon, honey dew, start of cantaloupe and green beans, start of the broccoli, chives, oregano and basil.

                       Saturday- Loads of blackberries and raspberries, snow peas, cucumbers, cut      lettuces, zucchini, basil, a variety of tomatoes- including our wonderful red sandwich tomatoes (which are also great for canning), eggplant-regular and Italian, peppers, watermelon, honey dew, start of cantaloupe and green beans as well as the broccoli, chives, oregano and basil have made a comeback. Possibly cabbage.

 Basically we will have loads of delicious:

Blackberries

Cucumbers

Honey Dew

Peppers

Raspberries

Tomatoes

Watermelons

Zucchini

And good amounts of delicious:

Snow Peas

Cut lettuces

Herbs (Basil, Oregano, Chives)

Eggplant

The following are just starting to come so we will have smaller amounts:

Broccoli

Cabbage

Cantaloupe

Corn

Green Beans

Kale

Hours and Harvest Week of July 9, 2012

Our hours this week:

Tuesday, July 10 from 2:00 pm-6:00pm

Thursday, July 12 from 2:00-6:00pm

Saturday, July 14 from 10am-2:00pm

What we will be harvesting this week:

·         Tuesday-A small amount of blackberries, raspberries, snow peas, cucumbers, cut lettuces, purslane, zucchini, yellow squash, basil, oregano and chives

·         Thursday-A small amount of blackberries, raspberries, snow peas, cucumbers, cut lettuces, purslane, zucchini, yellow squash, basil, oregano, chives and cabbage

        ·         Saturday- A small amount of blackberries, raspberries, snow peas, cucumbers, cut lettuces,     purslane, zucchini, yellow squash, basil, oregano, chives, cabbage and peppers

 Margy's Farm to Fork The Margy Way Coobooks are always available at the Market

Fourth of July Menu Ideas

Following are some of my favorite menu ideas for the Fourth of July most of which can be found in my cookbook Farm to Fork - The Margy Way:

Zucchini Dip 
Broccoli Salad
Crab, corn and tomato salad with lemon basil dressing
Macaroni Salad
Seven Layer Salad
BBQ Baby Back Ribs on the grill
Brats and Burgers on the grill
Zucchini Brownies
Berry Cobbler
Watermelon Lemonade

Farm to Fork the Margy Way is for sale at the following locations:
Tanglewood Berry Farm Market
Amazon
Barnes and Noble at Jefferson Point
All Annes' Hallmarks
Castle Gallery

Produce & Berry Status for Saturday's Market June 2, 2012

Well, just as we suspected the strawberries have really slowed down, almost to a screeching halt. We will have a few strawberries to sell at Saturday's Market but not many. The raspberries are coming on and if the sun comes out early Saturday we will have raspberries to sell at Market. We have the pickers all lined up and coming in early to pick. The raspberry bushes are loaded so we will have plenty of them soon and may need to open additional hours next week. I will post it on the blog or you can watch for our signs on Hadley Rd.

The greens have also slowed down a bit. Camille keeps reminding me "this is the beginning of the season and it's normal to start out slow." As she says "this is only the tip of the ice burg, as we will have so much produce to sell this summer." We are excited to have our wonderful organic produce and berries to share with you. Thanks for your patience and support. I will keep updating the status on the blog. What crazy weather from 98 degrees to 45 degrees in just a few days.

Here' a picture of Camille and Leo relaxing after a hot day of work Monday, May 28th when it was 98 degrees.  Leo went for a swim earlier to cool off.

The Dirty Dozen and the Clean Fifteen Lists

                        

June 2010, a report from the Environmental Working Group (a nonprofit group focused on public health) hit the news big with its reference to a list of foods called ‘The Dirty Dozen” . Their research concluded that these 12 fruits and vegetables still contained pesticides after the produce was washed with USDA high-power pressure water system. These foods are believed to be most susceptible because they have soft skin that tends to absorb more pesticides. The report suggests limiting consumption of pesticides by purchasing organic for these 12 fruits and vegetables. Following is the list.

The Dirty Dozen List                          

Apples

Bell peppers

Blueberries

Celery

Cherries

Imported Grapes

Lettuce

Nectarines

Peaches

Potatoes

Spinach /Kale /Collard Greens

Strawberries

The Clean Fifteen List:

Asparagus

Avocados

Cabbage

Cantaloupe

Eggplant

Grapefruit

Honeydew melon

Kiwi

Mango

Onions

Pineapple

Sweet corn

Sweet peas

Sweet potato

Watermelon

Not all non-organic fruits and vegetables have as high a level of pesticides. The Clean Fifteen list has a stronger outer layer that provides a defense against pesticide contamination. But even the Clean Fifteen need to be washed well. Because pesticides are created to be water-resistant (they have to stay on even when it rains), just water is not enough to get the chemicals off.  I clean them with equal parts water and white vinegar.

    

I recently read a book called Organic Manifesto by Maria Rodale, which I recommend to you if you are interested in learning why eating organic is so important for your health and the environment. Her book also includes the latest heath research from very reputable sources.

       For 31 years, I have studied the relationship between chemicals on our food and our health. I have not in all these years read about or found a positive coorelation between the two. What I do know is there’s a domino effect with chemical farming that effects us in ways I am sure we don’t even know about yet. For these reasons I have always had an organic garden and one of the reasons we now have Tanglewood Berry Farm; a certified USDA Organic Fruit and Vegetable Farm.